


Perfect Infinite Moments

by harryhermionerw



Series: Imagine Tony & Bucky [7]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alpha Bucky Barnes, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Bucky is so bad at this, M/M, Natasha loves these two idiots, Omega Tony Stark, Tony Has Issues, courting, imagine prompt fills
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-28 08:01:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12601992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harryhermionerw/pseuds/harryhermionerw
Summary: Bucky only has one gift left to give before the courtship ritual was over, and there were no second chances. Too bad he had royally fucked up the first two and offended Tonya lot. Maybe it was time to bend the rules.Or;Natasha can't with her two idiots (she loves them).





	Perfect Infinite Moments

**Author's Note:**

> Yay! Prompts are open!! Alpha Bucky and omega Tony au where traditional courting means that gifts are anonymously presented but the suitor will be rejected if three gifts are deemed unsuitable by the omega. Cue Bucky panicking because Stark has already rejected two of his gifts.
> 
> I need to work on the continually switching POV thing. Once again, hand-wavy team as family nothing bad ever happened to the team universe. *throws fairy dust around* 
> 
> Ignore the gaping plot holes where Tony should have known it was a fellow Avenger due to security reasons and Bucky should have... used google.

Tony opened the first gift and stiffened. A  _ gun?  _ Who would be so tasteless? So... He swallowed. He left the gift where it was, an uncomfortable leaden weight in his stomach. He would  _ never  _ be that person again. 

\--

Bucky watched as the omega looked like he would throw up.  _ He  _ wanted to throw up. What had gone wrong? Maybe things were very different now? In the 40s, giving an omega a weapon was telling them that you trusted them not to hurt you, and that you believed they could take care of themselves. At least, that was what it was supposed to mean. There were a lot of traditional gifts to choose from, and not a lot of alphas picked that one, uncomfortable with the thought of a weapon in their omega’s hands. Bucky, though, he thought it was a beautiful gift.

It was especially important to him now that Tony know that Bucky knew he could protect himself, especially from Bucky. He still had some violent nightmares, and the Winter Solider was always a potential problem. 

Dejected, he walked away. He would do better. 

\--

Tony had never been properly courted before. Sure, there had been trinkets and jewelry and small presents from alphas and betas that he had been dating, but no one had ever  _ courted  _ him. He knew the process, of course, everyone did. Three anonymous presents. Three chances for the alpha to prove themselves a worthy mate without preconceptions about the person coloring the gifts. 

He had hoped-

Well, he was an old, worn-out omega. Maybe he wasn't worth the effort. 

Sighing, he shoved the thought away and pulled up a project. Bucky’s body armor needed upgrading.

\--

It had taken the better part of two weeks but Bucky had finally decided on a second gift. Carefully wrapping it up, he enlisted JARVIS to get the second present in the kitchen right before the genius omega would enter. Crossing his fingers, he waited, unseen. This would be a much better gift.

When all the blood drained out of Tony’s face, a panicked scent coming from him, he knew he had fucked up again. 

\--

Tony looked at the gift in surprise. A second gift? Who would go to the effort after he had turned them down the first time? Setting his coffee cup down, he carefully opened the present. 

When he caught sight of what was inside the box, he could feel the blood drain from his face. A camera.

Hazy memories of people asking him if they could take pictures, recordings.  _ No _ he had said.  _ No no no _ . 

The next day the recordings were on the internet. He had faked a smile and owned it. What other choice did he have?

But a camera as a gift? There might be another reason for it but his panicking mind wouldn’t latch onto anything but that. Hurriedly, he slammed the flaps of the box shut with shaking hands and very deliberately picked up his coffee mug. Refilling it, he walked out the door directly to his workshop.

\--

“What did I do wrong?” He flopped down into the couch dramatically.

Natasha paused the TV. “With your courting presents?”

Bucky looked up, startled. “How did you know?”

Natasha gave him a smug look. 

“Right.”

“What did you get him?”

Bucky rolled over into his back and laid his head on the other alpha’s thigh. “I got him a camera!”

Natasha hummed, thinking about what she knew about the genius, idly petting Bucky’s head. 

JARVIS interrupted. “If I may, Miss Romanov, Mr. Barnes.” He sounded a little colder than normal.

Bucky made a gesture with his hand.

“There were recordings of a sexual nature released to the media without his consent.”

Bucky sat up straight, dislodging her hand. “What?”

Natasha closed her eyes. Of course. How could she have forgotten that? It had caused a huge media scandal, but Tony had come out of it smelling like roses.

Sometimes the innocent scent covered darker things, though. 

Bucky’s voice dropped an octave. “ _ What? _ ”

Natasha rounded on him. “If you're thinking of giving up-”

“I want to kill those people!” Bucky said, dangerously. 

Paradoxically, Natasha relaxed, urging him to lay back down. “They are.”

“Are what?” Resisting, Bucky peered at Natasha. His eyes were nearly black with rage, and it the angry scent was pouring off him.

“Dead.” JARVIS said. His voice was much warmer than it had been before, but still angry. Bucky still marvelled every day that a computer program was so human. It was so... science fiction.

Bucky relaxed, the anger scent pulling back. Laying back down, he looked at the ceiling. “Is that what he thought, JARVIS?”

JARVIS hesitated. “He hasn't said so specifically.”

“So yes.”

Natasha deliberately projected a calming scent. It didn't work as well as a calming scent from an omega, but it helped calm Bucky down. She thought that the slightly proud tone from JARVIS when he had said ‘dead’ helped more. “What did you mean it to be?”

“Past, present, and future.”

Natasha sighed noisily. “Of course you did, you moron.”

“Hey!”

Natasha patted Bucky’s head. “So what else did you get him?”

Bucky closed his eyes. “A gun.”

Natasha shoved Bucky into a sitting position. “A  _ gun? _ ” she sounded frantic. Natasha never sounded frantic. Not even facing down hundreds of murderous aliens and a nuclear bomb. 

Bucky frowned, very confused. “Yes?”

Natasha took a deep breath. “You gave Tony Stark, the person who was called the Merchant of Death for years, who spent three months in a cave being tortured in an attempt to coerce him to make weapons, the person whose  _ godfather tried to have him assassinated in that cave  _ and then tried to steal his company from him for shutting down the weapons manufacturing, you gave that man a  _ gun _ ?” Natasha’s voice rose higher and higher with every word.

Bucky couldn't breathe. “I did what?” his voice was so weak she could barely hear him. The words ‘assassination’ and ‘tortured’ and ‘merchant of death’ ringing in his ears. 

“You  _ idiot.” _ She started cursing in Russian, and a few other languages. 

He didn't understand the magnitude of how much he fucked up, but Natasha’s anger clued him in that it was a lot. “Just kill me,” he begged. 

“That can be arranged,” she said darkly. “You absolute idiot,” she continued. “What are you going to do?”

“Do? I'm going to throw myself on his mercy that's what I'm going to do!”

“Absolutely not!”

Surprised by her vehemence, he looked up at her. “I'm not?”

“No. You’re going to finish out the courtship, and if he declines  _ then  _ you throw yourself on his mercy.”

Squeezing his eyes shut, he prayed for a lightning bolt to strike him dead. “Then what  _ am  _ I going to do?”

“You're going to give him an amazing gift. And it's going to be both a final courtship offer  _ and  _ an apology.” Sighing, she settled back down, tired. Even a minor alpha rage tired her out. These boys, they were so stupid. “What did you mean the gun to be?”

Bucky colored. “In... you know. The forties-”

“Oh Bucky.”

“Yeah I gathered it was a bad idea!” He snapped. “Sorry, just. Courting has changed so much.”

Natasha made a ‘go on’ gesture, a kernel of sympathy warring with her annoyance. 

“It meant that I trusted them, to take care of themselves, that they didn't  _ need _ me but  _ chose _ me and allowed me to protect them. It..seemed fitting. He’s Iron Man. He can kick anyone’s ass, he's doesn't  _ need _ an alpha to stand in front of him, but if he had accepted, he was allowing me to. At least, sometimes.”

It was sweet, Natasha thought. His gifts were well-thought out - for anyone but Tony Stark and his mountain of issues.

“Make him food.” She decided. She would see these two idiot boys together if it was the last thing she did. 

“What?”

“Show him that you don't expect him to change anything about himself. He's afraid that an alpha would demand him to be a stereotypical omega. Barefoot, pregnant, staying behind and tending home. Make him a home-cooked meal.” She repeated. “Clean something for him. Unobtrusively. Get JARVIS to help you.”

“Having listened to this conversation, I would be more than happy to allow Mr. Barnes to further his courtship. I cannot promise him entrance to Sir’s private rooms but I can direct you to things that Sir might leave a mess and would have to clean up later,” JARVIS replied promptly.

“I'm so sorry, JARVIS.”

“I understand,” JARVIS said gently. 

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Certainly.”

“What... what meal or meals would he like?”

“Sir does not have particularly strong favorites. He does, however, has a fondness for pasta, of course, and chicken dishes.”

“Allergies?”

“Mint,” JARVIS replied.

Bucky shoved himself to his feet. “Well, I guess I'll go look up some recipes. And extravagant apology speeches.” He paused before leaving the room, and kissed Natasha on the head. “Thanks, Tasha.”

“Anytime. I love you both.” She gripped his hand. “Don't break his heart.”

Buck gave her hand a squeeze. “I'd rather rip mine out.”

\--

Tony found a plate of chicken alfredo on his work table. He looked at it, a little confused, before shrugging. He was hungry. Taking a first bite, he almost cried. It was entirely homemade, sauce and pasta. He favored every bite, ignoring the to-do list behind him. Amazing pasta deserved his attention, even mysteriously appearing delicious pasta.

Three days later he trudged up to the library, intending to re-shelve the many books he had pulled out haphazardly yesterday and left strewn about. He was fairly certain there were pens and paper and small electronic components left around the books as well. He stopped dead in the door to the library. There were no books on the floor, and all the papers, pens, and components were neatly organized on the small table. “JARVIS?” 

“Sir?”

“Am I hallucinating? Didn't I leave a mess here yesterday?”

“You did, yes Sir.”

Narrowing his eyes, he looked around the room as if someone was going to jump out and yell ‘gotcha’, but no one did. The scents in the room were a pleasing mix of all the Avengers, and he couldn't tell who had cleaned up after him. Gathering up the paper and electronics, he took them back downstairs to his workshop. 

Over the next few weeks, he had been plied with several home-cooked meals, and had gone to clean up a mess he had made four times only to find the area as neat as a pin. 

He wasn't sure what was going on.

Then he saw the wrapped box. His stomach knotted, especially after the past two offers. 

He approached it as if it were a bomb, and carefully opened it. He wasn't sure if he was dreading this or pleased his suitor had continued on. 

The box was very light. When he opened it, there was a single sheet of paper in it.

 

_ I want you exactly as you are. I don't need you to change anything about yourself. I trust you, and I want a past, present, and future with you. _

 

The meals and cleaning up after him made so much more sense now.

A note was cheating, bending the rules a little bit, but when had Tony Stark ever listened to the rules?

Of course, people said that he didn't need to change and then had to deal with the full force of his personality, but it was a nice sentiment.

But... those other gifts. Rationally, he thought the camera most likely had nothing to do with the sex tapes. The gun, though, he couldn't think of a single reason as to why his anonymous suitor would have gifted him that.

Sighing, he looked at the sheet of paper again.  _ I want you exactly as you are.  _ Maybe he was naive, but that was just what he wanted. Someone who didn't want him to change.

He took the letter with him.

\--

Tony closed the box, and wrapped it. “What do you think, JARVIS?”

“I think they'll be pleased, Sir.”

Suspicious, he shook a finger. “You know who they are!”

“Of course, Sir.”

Tony laughed. “Well, you haven't murdered them, so I guess that's a point in their column.” He looked back down at the wrapped box. “Well, let's go.”

He took the box up to the kitchen, and set it on the counter. He fidgeted around, opening doors and drawers, before finally making himself coffee and settling into the living room to not watch the movie playing on the TV. 

\--

There was a box in the kitchen. For him. He took a deep breath, then another. 

Quietly, he picked it up and opened it. There was an Iron Man helmet in the box. 

“That's who I am,” said a quiet voice behind him. 

Bucky whirled, his heart pounding. He hadn't heard or smelled Tony come up behind him. 

“I know.”

Those dark eyes regarded him. “Do you?”

“Yes.”

Tony watched him for a long time before finally speaking again. “The camera?”

“Past, present, and future,” Bucky replied promptly.

Tony nodded, but his eyes were still guarded. His scent was still wary. “And the gun.” It wasn’t a question.

Bucky winced. “I'm sorry.”

“Why?”

“In the- it's was meant to-” frustrated, Bucky shoved a hand through his hair. “That I trust you. You don't need me, you're choosing me. I didn't know, I'm so sorry.”

Tony’s scent relaxed a little bit, but he still looked wary.

Bucky wanted to cross the room and gather him into a hug, but didn't know if he would be welcome. “I'm so, so sorry,” he stressed. “I would  _ never.” _

Tony nodded, his posture relaxing finally. “You couldn't have known. I mean, you could have, maybe, but not really.”

“Still, I hurt you.” It was like a stone in his gut.

It was Tony who crossed the room to Bucky. He took Bucky’s hand.

“Yes, but you apologized. It's alright,” the omega said soothingly. “We’ll have to talk more, but it's  _ okay _ , Bucky.” He gestured toward the box. “I accept, if you couldn't tell.”

A burst of warmth filled Bucky’s stomach. “Even though I fucked up big time..”

Tony’s smile filled his face. “We all fuck up. What matters is that we make up for it and continue working forward.”

There was a moment of hesitation, then Bucky swayed forward. “I'm going to kiss you. Is that okay?”

“Please!”

The scent of happy omega and happy alpha filled the room. This was only the beginning, a fragile beginning, but for right now, for this infinite moment, they were both perfectly happy.

Natasha walked into the room then turned right back around. Normally she would tease the kissing couple, but it was too early in their relationship for that. She would go bother Clint for coffee. 


End file.
